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Global aluminium giant Alcoa has highlighted its commitment to its West Australian mining and processing operations, signing new gas supply agreements with BHP, Woodside and Chevron.Alcoa says they will supply about 25% of its WA gas requirements from 2020, and with existing contracts including Quadrant Energy and Santos will fuel its Kwinana, Pinjarra and Wagerup alumina refineries for the mid-term.The 3 WA refineries comprise the world’s largest integrated source of alumina.

Alcoa employees making up 40% of the company’s West Australian workforce have rejected a new long-term wage proposal, extending a month-long strike that has cost an estimated 15,000t of alumina production.The 1,500 workers, members of the Australian Workers Union, are protesting over failure of more than 18 months of talks on a new enterprise bargaining agreement.

The Australian arm of global bauxite and aluminium leader Alcoa says it expects no impact on production from industrial action at its operations south of Perth in WA over negotiations on a new enterprise bargaining agreement.Australian Workers Union members at five sites, about 1,500 of Alcoa's 3,750 employees in the state, have stopped work until Aug 17 over the lack of a resolution after 18 months of talks.The company has reached agreement on new EBAs for mechanical and electrical trades workers.

(TECHNOLOGY) New $C188M Elysis JV established to commercialise the world's first zero-carbon aluminium smelting technology claimed to be the industry's most significant innovation in more than a century

Rio Tinto and Alcoa established a JV to commercialise an aluminium smelting process that eliminates all direct greenhouse gas emissions from traditional operations.JV company Elysis aims to develop a technology package for sale from 2024 using the process, first developed by Alcoa in the USA in 2009.Alcoa and Rio will invest $C55M cash over 3 years, supported by investments of $60M each by the Canadian and Quebec govts and $13M by Apple.

Guinean bauxite miner La Guineenne des Mines (GDM) has shipped the 1st 174,000t of ore from its western Boke region project and is targeting exports of 2Mt-4Mt this year, its CEO says, Reuters reports.The 1st cargo was carried by ships operated by Singapore’s Winning Shipping and Chinese company Shadong Weiqiao. The 2 are the main owners of the Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB) bauxite project, which has the rights to buy/export GDM’s production. The project has proven bauxite reserves of 40Mt.

Strong alumina and aluminum prices have enabled global mining and fabrication leader Alcoa to more than double adjusted EBITDA for the year to end-Dec to $US2.35B (FY2016: $1.11B). Adjusted net income was $563M, a turnaround from its $227M loss a year earlier.Alcoa predicts global aluminum demand growth of 4.25-5.25% in FY2018, and a global market deficit of 300,000-750,000t. It expects global bauxite and alumina markets to be balanced.

Alliance Miniere Responsable (AMR) has begun production at its Guinean bauxite mine, aiming to produce 6Mtpa-10Mtpa of the aluminium ore, Reuters reports.The mine’s output will all be sold to Societe Miniere de Boke (SMB), a Guinean company whose main shareholders are Singapore’s privately owned Winning International Group and China’s Shandong Weiqao. AMR says that by next year the company should be producing about 8Mt, rising to over 10Mt the following year.

Global bauxite, alumina and aluminum leader Alcoa maintained adjusted net income at $US116M in the June qtr (2Q17), compared to $117M in the prior period, on revenue of $2.859B (1Q17: $2.655B). Adjusted EBITDA declined to $483M ($533M) on low alumina prices.Alcoa tightened its full year 2017 EBITDA outlook to $2.1-2.2B, from $2.1-2.3B previously. It warns increasing input costs driven by the stronger global aluminum market will have a $50M negative impact on net performance.